Another Side To You And Me
by allyyyyy
Summary: Draco finds himself contained in Malfoy Manor’s dungeons with only another for company. He finds out a little too late who exactly he’s with. This sends Draco’s world into tailspin with his only savior being the one who cast this vicious curse upon him.


**__**

Another Side To You And Me

Draco finds himself contained in Malfoy Manor's dungeons with only another for company. He finds out a little too late who exactly he's with. This sends Draco's world into tailspin with his only savior being the one who cast this vicious curse upon him.

.. 

DISCLAIMER: All characters, settings, and magical occurrences were all conceived and created in the brilliant mind of J.K. Rowling. Nothing except the glorious plot is property of mine. No profits are being made from my writing.

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ANOTHER WARNING: This story will contain some SLASH as the main pairing will be Draco Malfoy and Remus Lupin. If this bothers, offends, or just grosses you out, you can save yourself a lot of pain and heartburn and just click the back button. If you are intrigued (as I am by this rare pairing), stick around. I can only hope not to disappoint.

.. 

Draco hung his head in defeat. He'd spent the past two days fighting the inevitable but now it seemed a worthless task. His hands were raised high above his head in shackles belonging ironically to his father. This proved to have made things all the more worse. For no matter what he chose to do, he'd never imagined his father would betray him in such a way. It would seem he was wrong.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been awake. He'd wavered in an out of consciousness for a while though it seemed to matter not. The silence was all too consuming. Sometime during the night they'd brought another down. He was rather thankful they'd decided to torture this other person rather than himself. He didn't care how selfish that sounded but he'd had enough.

They left him shackled to the wall across the room, directly across from a high window. He'd been motionless as long as Draco had watched. Curiosity was getting the better of him as well. He needed to know whom else they had captured. The list had been steady growing from what he could easily remember. Though somewhere in the back of his mind he wondering if he'd ever get out of there again and if it really would matter. As time wore slowly on, he began doubting it.

He'd given up all hope that the ministry would show up. They had no reason to invade the Manor in such a way and most of them would've been too afraid of his father to do so anyway. He realized that this was one more time his name was working against him. It forced a bitter laugh from within, his head hanging further in despair.

His eyes focused blankly upon the cold, stone flooring, fascinated as slowly the ground became bathed in the light from the moon. Light like that he knew came only from a full moon. That meant he'd been there almost an entire month now. Hope had become so distant he didn't even wish for it anymore.

As the room filled up with light, Draco noticed that whom ever had been brought in before, was beginning to wake. The body shook violently he could tell, pulling harshly on the chain that bound him. Draco couldn't help but watch in fascination as he struggled against his chains but more so as the body contorted and changed. Draco's first thought was that maybe it was an Animagus. Then it clicked to him. Transformation. Full Moon. It was a werewolf.

Soon he found himself full of fear and apprehension. If the werewolf managed to pull itself from the walls, he'd be dead. There was no nice way to put it. That was the plan though wasn't it? This was how they'd intended him to die. Which he most definitely would.

There was a loud crashing noise as the monster freed one of its chained appendages, the metal hitting the ground. Draco's heart stopped in his chest. The second soon followed, leaving the werewolf free and Draco on his minutes. He knew it was a futile attempt but he pulled forcefully against his own chains, willing them off their hinges. He didn't want to die like this. As he suspected, it was of no success and soon his efforts had lured the beast over.

"Stay away from me you daft creature!" Sure, it wasn't going to help and the blonde wasn't certain where such a voice had even come from. The werewolf snarled menacingly at him as he approached. Draco felt his breath catch in his throat.

It came as close as a few feet from where Draco hung and stopped. The room grew more silent with every passing second. Draco knew this had to be the fates way of punishing him. Letting him think over the atrocities he'd committed no matter what the cause. It was the end and he found himself growing steadily calm. Then, without a second more passing the werewolf made his move and Draco's world become completely dark.

.. 

The first thought he grasped when he came to was that the place seemed very oddly enough like Grimmauld Place. It seemed highly unlike that life after death would be anything like this. His reason, though it took time to kick in, deduced that he wasn't dead after all. Though the pain he felt made him wish he were.

"Malfoy. You're awake I see." The voice jolted him from his thoughts and he shifted his head to the side to see whom had spoken to him. It was just his luck that Granger was standing there.

"Your power of observations still astounds me." Draco choked out, trying to sit up in the bed. He reasoned things couldn't be too bad for him if he was there rather than at St. Mungo's.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you and I'd watch your tongue. I'm the one who has to administer your treatment." Hermione helped to settle him back down into the bed at which he looked rather flustered by.

"What's wrong with me then?" He questioned, adjusting the blanket that had been pulled up over him.

"How much do you remember?" She seemed as though she wanted to tiptoe around the subject as much as possible. She went as far as to avert her eyes from him, busying herself with anything she could find.

"I remember being the dungeons at the Manor and that someone else came in that night but everything else is a bit fuzzy." She looked at him as though he were some sad, lost, little puppy whom she'd just taken under her wing.

"Something else happened that night. You can't remember who else was there with you?" She finally stopped fidgeting, handing him a vial filled with a calm blue liquid. Draco hesitantly drank it contents. Granger certainly wouldn't try to poison him at Order Headquarters. At least he was pushing that theory.

"I don't remember finding out. I remember the moon though. I remember that being the last thing I saw before I blacked out." Hermione's face contorted a bit at the mention of the moon. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? Like I'm some bloody wounded bird." Hermione didn't answer. She didn't have the slightest clue what to say to him anyway. "What happened to me?" His voice came out more defeated than he'd have liked but he felt weak and bordered on irritated with the charade they were playing.

"Mr. Malfoy, I believe I may be the best candidate to answer these questions. Hermione, if you'll give us a second." Dumbledore smiled fondly at the young medi-witch before she took her leave. Draco was glad for that. He didn't really want her fussing over him like she had been, it seemed unnatural. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"A little sore but not much worse than normal." Draco eyed him skeptically. He'd known the man long enough to know when he was hiding something. He could certainly tell there was more than was being said aloud. "What happened to me?" He repeated. Dumbledore's eyes softened as he focused upon the blonde a moment.

"That night in the dungeons, it was a full moon, Draco. The Death Eaters brought a werewolf down into the dungeons as part of your punishment." The events seemed to be stirred in his head and Dumbledore mentioned them. He remembered the moonlight creeping into the room, the horrid transformation taking over the other soul in the dungeons. "You have been bitten."

Draco sat completely still; fighting for what little breath he could find. It just couldn't be. How could this be happening to him? He began willing himself to wake up from this awful dream but no such salvation came. Instead Dumbledore went on.

"This is truly a blessing, my boy. We're not certain why Remus only bit you rather than murder but we're rejoiced for such an outcome."

"Rejoiced? I've been turned into a werewolf and you all are rejoiced." Draco could not believe his ears at such a claim.

"This result is better than death." Dumbledore tried to reason but Draco was not having any of it.

"I'd rather be dead than such a monster." He sneered angrily, turning away from the older man.

"You should never wish such things upon yourself, Draco." The blonde felt his eyes begin to water up as he averted his eyes as best he could. He was not going to cry. He couldn't. It wasn't fair. "It was too late to stop Remus from biting you when we'd arrived. No one could understand why you were even alive and with the exception of your mark, you weren't harmed in any other way. The Aurors had to charm Remus to allow them to help you." Dumbledore explained the story quietly; sensing his presence would not be welcomed for much longer. "Thankfully Harry was there and realized what the consequence of this situation may have been and he brought you here. I don't know what might have happened had the Ministry been allowed to find you."

"You mean to tell me the Ministry doesn't know about this?" He questioned, surprising even himself with a glance towards the graying man.

"Certainly not. Both you and Remus would've been taken in. Remus would've been put to death and the Ministry would not be too kind to you either. We're looking out for you best interest, Draco. We are."

"It seems to me you're looking out for the interest of that monster more than my own." That old Malfoy sneer seemed to have never left him, despite his more mild temperament as of late.

"You're going to believe what you will, but I think that if you visited with Remus, you'd realize how much this has effected him. He feels dreadful for what he's done, Draco. The guilt is enough. Must he suffer death too for his wrongs?" Dumbledore was trying to appeal to his conscience but all Draco could focus on was that he himself was now a creature he'd grown up hating.

"So all he has to live with is guilt? Now I'm going to be living in shame for who he's made me."

"Do not under estimate guilt, Draco. Remus will never recover from what he's done to you. Nor will you. But right now, I hope you can see that he may be the best ally in dealing with your new condition. He can help you understand."

"I don't want to be around him, ever again! He bites me and you people still coddle him as though it were my faults alone that caused this." Draco's temper had flared to new heights, voice raising. Despite this, Dumbledore remained calm and collected, brushing it off as easily as one would dust.

"But you must remember that Remus did not choose this either. His fate was chosen for him by another like yourself. Though unlike the one who sired him, he feels the same pain you do. You cannot forget that Remus was not himself that night." These points, no matter how logical, did not seem to matter to Draco. He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, fighting back the emotional wave that threatened him. "I'll leave you now. I do hope you will get to feeling better soon."

Draco didn't watch Dumbledore leave nor did he care. His body ached all over and his insides were pounding at him for release. He wouldn't allow it. He would not become weak. He went to sit back more comfortably against the bed when he felt a shooting pain in his shoulder. Rather slowly, he reached his hand up and felt his left shoulder. It was covered up in a bandage but it ached from underneath. It didn't take two guesses to realize what this was.

In the back of his mind, he willed himself just to lay down and ignore it. Pretend it wasn't there. But the rest of him needed to see it. To feel it. He hesitantly removed the bandages that covered the mark. He discarded the gauzy wrap quickly and let his fingers gently graze the sore area. He could feel the tell tale imprint of teeth into flesh. He closed his eyes as tightly as he could manage. Yes, death seemed to be the better alternative.

.. 

"Remus?" Harry voice was quiet so he did not wake the man should he be sleeping. He wasn't surprised to find the broken body curled up in armchair near his window. Harry had been in to see him every day for the past two weeks, never finding him anywhere else. Harry entered the dimly lit room, letting the door shut behind him and approached the window. "I thought I would come to ask if you'd like some dinner."

"No thank you, Harry. I'm not feeling up to it." Remus replied softly, not taking his eyes off the night sky before him.

"You can't let yourself wither away into nothing. You need to eat something." Harry knew he sounded like a worried mother hen but let it be damned. He was slowly watching the man deteriorate over Malfoy. It seemed like a waste.

"I'm fine."

"Remus, you're not fine. You sit here all day and night at this window. Sipping your tea lightly, never leaving to eat anything. And over what? Malfoy?"

"You can't understand, Harry." Remus looked away, his pained expression fading from Harry's viewpoint.

"Then help me to. Because I'm not going to let you die over this." Harry's voice was forceful. Remus almost smiled at how similar he sounded to his father at that moment. Always looking out for everyone else. It was either very noble or very stupid.

"When I was marked all those years ago, I swore to myself I'd never place such a burden on anyone. It may not seem plausible to you but I always tried my hardest to distance myself from others. I knew how hard it had been dealing with it on my own. No one deserves that pain. I finally found some sort of peace with the Wolfsbane potion. I knew at least that I wouldn't hurt anyone else. But that night, Harry, something happened when I changed. I'd never been drawn to someone like Draco Malfoy that night. It was always anger I felt. Anger that made me want to hurt them but this was different. I wanted to mark him. Make him my own. I'd never had a feeling like that, even when I was around any of my friends or even lovers. I ruined his life because I let my emotions better me."

"He'd be dead otherwise."

"He's said numerous times he would've preferred it."

"Did you speak with him?" Harry couldn't imagine how such a conversation would go.

"No, at night I find myself drawn to his rooms. I've heard him speak with Dumbledore." Remus seemed devastated at the thought and Harry couldn't quite understand why.

"Malfoy is an utter prat, Remus. He's never going to understand that you had no control over what happened. He'll never even try to see the kind of person you are. You wouldn't have done anything to harm him otherwise. We both know that." Harry was trying to be as reassuring as possible. It would've been so much easier if it had been someone else that had been bitten. Why did it have to be Malfoy? The most intolerant person to walk the Earth.

"But I want him to understand. That is the problem. I want him."

.. 

"Draco you really must start taking better care of yourself. You haven't left these rooms since Hermione brought you up here. She hasn't even been in to check on you in a week." Dumbledore sat on the opposite side of the room to Draco on the bed. He was the only person who had talked to the blonde since he'd returned. Draco had shooed everyone else away before they could get a word in edge wise.

"I'm fine. It isn't any of your concern." He bit out, leaning back against the comfort of his bed. He knew he may have been being a little ridiculous but life just wasn't exactly the same anymore. He was entitled to a little anger. A little alienation.

"It is my concern. You're under our care."

"And I'm an adult. I will gladly take care of myself."

"As long as you are at Order Headquarters I will make it my duty to keep you safe." Dumbledore reasoned. He knew he was beginning to provoke the boy but sometimes he found that was what Draco needed more than anything. A good yell. He hadn't been able to get Harry in there yet, that would've probably helped a lot.

"Then I'll be out of here as soon as I can."

"And go where? You've no where else to go now." Draco shot him a venomous glare of disbelief. But what hurt more than that statement was that it was entirely true. He'd lost his home now. There was not other place for him to even be. Draco looked away from the older man who stood and was moving for the door. Draco was very grateful. "Remus. If you're going to listen you might as well do it in here." Dumbledore ushered the older werewolf into the room.

Draco sat up abruptly in his bed, glaring harshly at the other man. Remus looked like a deer who'd been caught in the headlights of a car. "What in the bloody hell do you think you are doing here?"

"I just thought…"

"I don't care what you thought! Just get out of here! You've done enough haven't you?" Draco was livid. He was certain he could've gone his entire life without laying eyes on the man and that wouldn't be long enough. Instead there he stood, looking entirely too hurt for Draco's own taste.

"Draco, I think it's time the two of you discuss things. We've let you sulk alone enough." Dumbledore's voice was firm which was enough for the blonde to realize he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one. "I'm going to let you two alone to talk for a moment. Please try and remember some civility." The old man chided as he pulled the big door shut behind him. Remus almost jumped at the sound, lingering near the wooden barrier.

"You have a lot of nerve, you know. Coming here after all that you've done." Draco muttered, standing up from the bed. It made him feel in too many ways like a damsel in distress. Resigned to his bed. Refusing visitors.

"I know."

"So why did you come here then?" Draco kept his eyes fixed on a painting that hung in his room. Anything to keep his attentions off of Remus who looked near tears himself. He was not going to make Draco feel bad about what he'd said. It was purely his fault that he felt that way. Draco couldn't change what he'd done as much as he wanted to.

"I wanted to see you." Remus' voice was soft and very unsure of itself. It quite caught Draco off guard.

"To see what I've become? To rejoice over what you've done?"

"Is that honestly what you think? That I'm glad that I've done this to you? You're sorely mistaken."

"Then please, thrill me. How do you feel?" Draco jerked himself around, facing Remus angrily. His mouth was running away with himself he knew but found that he didn't seem to care.

"I feel like the monster everyone has been telling me for years I was." Remus seemed thoughtful for a moment as he stood there. "I've bared with this for the better half of my life. I never wanted another to have to do the same at my doing."

"It's a little late for that isn't it?"

"I know that I cannot apologize enough to you, but I hope you can at least see that I never meant for this to happen to you. I'd not wish this on anyone." Remus chose to disregard the last comment Draco made. It was too late. He'd already done it. There was no going back. Or changing how he felt now.

"It doesn't matter what you meant. All that matters now is that I'm never going to get to live the life I may have wanted. And that's your fault." He turned away again, tears clouding as he willed them away. He wasn't going to go back to being emotional about this.

"I know it is." Draco didn't turn back around until he heard the big door shut behind the older werewolf. Out of his anger, Draco grabbed the heaviest thing he could find which happened to be a vase of flowers and chucked it at the shut door. He watched as the pieces shattered. He sat fascinated at their fate. It was very much like his own future. Shattered beyond repair.

.. 

Three days before the next full moon and almost a month since Draco had been found in The Manor dungeons, things got much worse for the blonde. During the rest of the month, he was living in disbelief. If he didn't acknowledge what was wrong with him then it didn't matter. But as his health was on the decline and his senses heightened, he knew that wouldn't be a luxury much longer.

Despite what he wanted to believe, he was ultimately scared out of his mind. He didn't know what to expect when the full moon rose in the sky. He knew he'd have no control. Potion or not. He'd spoken to Snape already. He planned on delivering the potion to him soon. Draco was dreading that even more.

He took a deep breath and raised his fist, knocking lightly upon the large wooden door. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He'd sworn to himself he never wanted to see that blasted man every again. But there he was. At his door, hoping that he'd offer something to help. He seemed to be the only one who could.

He heard a muffled noise from inside the room and he wasn't sure if it was a 'go away' or a 'come in' so he decided to open the door anyway. After all, he'd shown up as Draco's door unannounced. He was surprised the find Remus lounging a bit on one of the old sofas in his rooms, a thin gray blanket covering his lap. Draco automatically felt envious. He seemed completely fine even with the impending full moon.

"Draco. I didn't expect to see you here." Remus greeted softly. Draco let the door shut up behind him.

"I need to speak with you." Draco sounded utterly defeated and that was exactly how he felt. He'd been down to his last resort.

"How are you feeling?" Remus didn't need another guess as to what the aforementioned talk was to be about. He could still remember the days preceding his first transformation and how terrible he felt. It seemed like nothing compared the process itself but he didn't think he should scare him that much in one conversation.

"Like shit. But everything just seems better. Other than my health I suppose. Just clearer. Does that make any sense at all?" Draco had discarded the wounded brat routine for a moment. It wasn't going to hurt anything too terribly much. Remus gave a slight nod. "Why do I feel this terrible and you seem fine?"

"This is your first transformation. It's your body's way of adjusting to the changes it will be making. This may happen the couple times but once your body falls in sync with your transformations it won't be as bad." As much as he was trying, he was sure it wasn't too reassuring. There was still going to be a time after this and after that.

"That makes me feel much better." Draco spoke sarcastically, sitting on the edge of the large bed in the room. His head hung low, eyes fixated upon the ground. "What happened that night?" His voice sounded meek and weak. If he hadn't felt so terrible and vulnerable already he might have been angry with himself.

"Didn't Dumbledore explain the situation to you?"

"He did. But I'd like to hear it from you."

Remus set the blanket back on the couch and stood, pacing as he began the tale. He spoke of his capture that very night. They'd waited until he'd left to make their move. He hadn't even known what was going on until he was chained down in the dungeons. He told him of how he'd broken free of his constraints. He paused before he explained what happened to make him mark him in the first place. He wasn't certain he could tell anyone else that bit. Having told Harry was hard enough.

"But why did you just bite me? Werewolves aren't know for their compassion in such a state." Remus raised an eyebrow at how sure Draco sounded with his answer. "I've been reading about it. I thought I should probably understand it at least."

"I don't know exactly what happened. For some reason I just didn't want to see you hurt. I just turned you."

"That's not it and we both know it."

"What do you want me to say to you, Draco? You already seem so sure you know the answer."

"Just tell me the truth."

"I felt drawn to you. I didn't want to be alone anymore and I wanted it to be because of you. I bite you because I wanted to be with you." As his words filtered through the hair, his heart beat like it was ready to rip through his chest.

"It's never happened to you before? You've never felt like that?"

"Never. It still scares me. Like I don't have any control over how I feel."

"And how do you feel?"

"Don't." Remus stalled near the window from his room. It was late for the view wasn't much but it didn't matter.

"I just want to understand this."

"It doesn't matter how I feel. All that matters is that we can't change this now." Draco seemed to realize that it might be a good time for him to leave now. He felt certain he may have just worn out his welcome. He left Remus gazing out the window. Eyes locked on the very thing that would change his life in the worst way in now just under three days.

.. 

He wasn't sure what had made him do it. Draco had been prepared for a long night of suffering all alone. But as he found his time running out before, he wasn't so sure anymore. So unsure in fact that he swaggered through the house and to rooms he'd been in just three days before. The door opened just as he was about to knock.

"Come on." Remus' voice sounded as calm as possible. Draco didn't even question how he'd known he was outside the door. The blonde couldn't bring himself to meet Remus' questioning gaze. He'd been so horrible to him before and now there he was. Nearly pleading for help. He was waiting to be turned away. "Did you take your potion?"

"That was the foulest potion I've ever tasted." Draco rubbed his mouth slightly at the thought, maneuvering himself onto the small sofa.

"It doesn't ever get any better. I used to think Severus did it just to torment me. I may have to rethink that now."

The pair of them sat in silence. Waiting for what would inevitably come next for them. One knowing what would, the other completely fearful of what that may be. The tense situation seemed to have no cure but as soon as the moon began to rise fully, it didn't matter anymore.

Draco gasped in pain, no voice escaping from his lungs. There was nothing there. Just a pitiful moan of pain. His eyes snapped shut to everything around him. He could feel his muscles contracting them expanding at rapid rates. His skin sprouting fur. His face changing to become completely unrecognizable. He opened his now long snout and gave a loud growl of pain.

When he finally opened his eyes, realizing that it wasn't just a cruel joke they had been playing on him, he saw that Remus had already undergone such a process. And much like a child who had been punished, Draco curled up as tightly as he could make himself. He'd wait it out. So, with depression settling throughout his new form, he planned to do just that.

He opened his eyes just as he saw the sun peeking up over the horizon. Just as the sun hit the sky with its bright beaming rays, the pain he'd encountered from the night before, shocked his body. He pulled his eyes shut as tight as he could make them, just concentrating on breathing as his body changed for the second time. This time when he gasped, he could recognize the voice as his own and he fought to maintain his breathing.

His body was understandably weak and as he tried to stand, his legs had other ideas and caved back in, landing hands and knees on the floor. Surprisingly, two arms lifted him up from the ground and back onto the sofa as gently as possible. His sad silver eyes looked up to meet those of the other werewolf.

"It was still me. I didn't feel different." Draco sputtered out fearing he made no sense at all.

"The potion will help keep you from suffering from the dementia that accompanies your changes. It is still you." Remus, despite his better judgement smoothed out some of Draco's hair while the blonde just struggled controlling his breathing. "You're alright now. It is over." He soothed lightly. Even if Draco would've had something terrible to say, he couldn't have managed the words. Instead, the gentle stroking Remus provided help him settle into sleep. A bit fitful but sleep none the less.

.. 

Over the next few days, Draco ventured out of his rooms, surprised to see that Remus had done the same. There seemed to be some sort of understanding between them. Draco no longer fought to find words to harm the other man. At the same time, Remus never commented on anything that had occurred that night. It seemed to work for both of the.

Draco was pouring himself a cup of tea from a pot Molly Weasley had made earlier that evening when Remus stopped abruptly in the doorway. Whereas they were civil to one another, they rarely spoke. Especially not in privacy. "Would you like a cup?" Draco offered, holding the pot out. Remus nodded lightly.

"I'm surprised to see a Malfoy doing manual labor like so." He lightened the mood, walking nearer into the kitchen to receive his cup.

"I'm just feeling a bit generous. I'm glad you chose to take advantage. It may be the only time." He slid the other cup to Remus, lifting his own slowly to his lips. "How are you feeling?" Draco suddenly asked. It had weighed on his mind since that night they'd discussed the actual events of that fateful night.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"That's not what I meant. You never did tell me that night when I asked."

"And it's for good reason. I still don't think it matters too terribly much." Remus' stiffened a little, taking a drink from the cup, suddenly wishing it was indeed something a bit stronger.

"Please." Both of them seemed shocked as the request came quickly out of the blonde's mouth.

They stood there, letting the silence settle briefly around them. Studying the other one briefly over the tea they shared. Finally, Remus sighed and set his cup down.

"I lay in bed every night and I ache. I'm literally in pain until I pull myself out of bed and down the hallway to your room. I can't help it. I've tried. I stand there outside your room and I feel a bit relieved. The aching subsides enough at least. Just listening to the soft sounds of your breathing." Remus has a distant look in his eyes as he spoke. "I'm sure this makes no sense."

"Actually it does. I feel it too." Draco looked away almost as though he were ashamed by his words. As he found himself getting more and more educated on his affliction, he'd discovered many things. One of them being that bond that he now shared with the other man seemed to run deeper than the others saw. "It has affected how both of us feel.

"How long have you realized this?"

"Since that night you came to talk to me. The pain that I'd felt wasn't there when you were. It was then I realized that you'd been there before. The only thing that helped me to sleep at night. It only confirmed it when I came to speak to you after that. Especially when you wouldn't say anything to me about it. I knew that you felt the same way."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Remus questioned, breathing having escalated with the words Draco spoke.

"What would it have accomplished? No matter what my body told me, I was still angry. I had to overcome that myself."

"And have you?"

"I wouldn't have gone to you during my transformation if I hadn't. I may have been in pain but I still had my pride. Or at least I did. I'd have done it all on my own otherwise. I'm glad I didn't have to though." The last bit was added very quietly.

"I am too."

.. 

The very next evening, Remus lay in bed, contemplating all the things he'd said the night before. Still having a hard time understanding the situation anymore than before. The familiar pang barely interrupting his thoughts.

He was going to make it tonight. He closed his eyes tightly, exhaling as deeply as he could. He felt as though he'd made such a fool of himself. What had he really expected from Draco in return for his omission? There was an entire list of things but he hadn't expected the blonde to empty his cup and leave him standing there as though their conversation had never happened.

Strangely enough, Remus felt that calming wave that would wash over him when he was near Draco. His eyes shot open at the sound of his door clicking shut. In the darkness, he could barely make out the figure that approached. He didn't need another guess though. His body told him enough.

"Draco, what are you doing?"

"You never came tonight." The statement hung in the air with Remus unsure how to answer it. "I thought perhaps I'd come to you instead." His voice sounded a bit unsure even as he stood there. It was a change from the normal tone you'd hear from the blonde.

Remus pulled the blankets back from the bed indicating his response. Draco situated himself in the bed, daring enough to move nearer to the other man. Remus felt strangely more at peace than he had in a long while. Hoping he wouldn't regret the decision, he wrapped his arms around the blonde. Draco took this as a good sign and snuggled closer.

"Good night, Remus."

"Good night, Draco." And for the first time in over a month, it seemed like it may just be that.

.. 

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A/N: There you have it! I'd be busying myself lately reading as much good Draco/Remus stuff that was out there. And while there is some rather good things, there just isn't enough. So here's another attempt at the two of them. I've found I rather enjoy this pairing a lot. I'm not entirely certain about this fic though. It is a one-shot. I've had the idea swimming around for weeks and I decided enough was enough. Time to sit down and write it. Here is the outcome. Quick note, I know they were struggling around with the being near the other but I used this as a way to show that they were indeed to be mated. The affect would wear off after the relationship is consummated. So without further ado…like/hate/love it, let me. Flames are welcome though don't do so because of the pairing. I shall only stick my tongue out at you and use your flame to heat our poorly insulated house. :-D


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